Washing Gloves

ABSTRACT

A glove-like shape which is infused and absorbs shampoo or soap-like composition for use in cleaning hair and other body parts without the need for adding water for activation and for rinsing. The glove like component preferably has two oversized outside fingers so the same can be easily worn on the left or right hand of the user. In the preferred embodiment, the glove is soft, made of woven material, like cotton, inexpensive, and disposable after use. The composition of the glove and the soap/shampoo is such that after the same is rubbed over a body part, the glove picks up and retains the dirt loosened thereby so that the glove can be hygienically disposed of These gloves are intended to be used one at a time. Preferably, a carton or package/container of the gloves are commercially sold and purchased by a consumer with the package serving to dispense the same, one at a time, and to retain the composition of the shampoo and soap within the gloves, until used. An alternate embodiment provides an inner liner integrated to the woven absorbent glove-shape and isolating the hand from the water and/or cleaning composition.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to a body wipe, preferably in the shape ofan absorbent glove which is infused with a composition which, withoutthe need to add water, will clean a body part as the glove is scrubbedover the same. More specifically, a cloth-like or other absorbent glove,preferably disposable, is provided with a cleaning composition which canbe used by one person on themselves for cleaning their hair, face, arms,etc. and/or more preferably for use by the person on an infant ortoddler to maintain the hygiene of the same. The glove is preferablyprovided within a box (package) of the same which serves to store themuntil use and dispenses the gloves, one at a time, as needed. In oneembodiment, the gloves are lined with an impermeable membrane protectingthe user's hands from coming into contact with the cleaning compositionwhile the same is worn on the hand.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

There are many single sheet wipes which are infused with a water and/orsoap-like composition, intended to be dispensed from a package, whenused on a human body part. Indeed, there is a variety of such sheet-likewipes for use with infants, for helping to wipe their backsides whendiaper changing occurs, to their hands and faces during and aftereating, etc. In addition, there are many, many products available todaywhich are for adult use for bathroom hygiene. These, too, are sheets,dispensed preferably one at a time, and then disposed. Each such sheetis infused with a composition which is intended to clean the bodysurface, be smooth to the touch, and not too abrasive.

To Applicant and the inventor's knowledge there is a need for an infusedwipe in the shape of a glove, which will wipe a body surface clean,without unnecessary abrading, and, yet, without the need for rinsingwith water. The present invention provides a glove-like shape, of anabsorbent, flexible, one size fit all dimensions, which is preferablydisposable, and more preferably, made from a smooth cloth, or cloth-likewoven material. The wipe or glove, preferably, will be contained withina package for one at a time use and then disposal. The wipe or glovewill be saturated with a shampoo/soap mixture or composition which willnot require water for activation and, just as importantly, there shouldbe no need for water to rinse the same. Rather, the user will use thesame on a body part and then toss away the wipe/glove. The body will beclean, refreshed, without the need for rinsing with of the same afterthe application of the cleaning composition.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the wipe orglove-shaped article can be easily donned by a left or right handedindividual as the glove will be configured to be easily placed on andremoved from both left and right hands, i.e., the wipe/glove will havean oversized set of outside fingers (pinky and thumb) so that the glovecan be worn by right or left-handed individuals.

The wipe/glove will be easily slid onto one's hand and its intendedfunction will be to wash an infant's hair (especially after meals) andother body parts, e.g., arms, hands, the face, etc. In addition, ofcourse, the wipe/glove can be used to wash other body parts, e.g., theneck, the chest, underarms, etc.

The shampoo/mixture of soap composition should be suitable for bothcleaning the hair and body parts. The function of the wipe/glove is towash hair and/or other body parts without the need to rinse before orafter use. The glove is considered a preferred functional shape in thatit allows the user to grasp hair and or body parts and to pull the hairor body part in one direction while maintaining contact with the otheror gloved hand. This increases the surface contact of the cleansingcloth or cloth like material with the body part, to maximum hygienicadvantage.

In addition, while the preferred embodiment contemplates the use of acloth or cloth like or at least soft woven wipe in the shape of a glove,shaped for receipt and use by both hands, the glove is intended to bedisposable making the same hygienic, easy to use, and efficient. Thewipe/glove thus must be disposable and inexpensive to maximize itsutility so that the user, after use, can throw it away and not carry thebacteria in his/her pocket or purse.

Wipes, as mentioned, are currently available. They are not in the shapeof a glove. Gloves, of course are also available even disposable latexand other composition gloves. In addition, there currently existscloth-like gloves for those who cream their hands and want to protecttheir linens from the impact of the crèmes in overnight situations.Those gloves, while absorbent and inexpensive, meant to be tossed afteruse, are not initially provided with a soap or cleaning nor shampooformula and, indeed, they are somewhat sterile, without any compositionof mediation infused or absorbed therein. Shampoos, body wash, soaps arealso prevalent. There has not, however, until the present invention beena wipe or glove article infused with the same.

There seems to be a need for a disposable, inexpensive, body wipe,infused or absorbent of shampoo, soap or other cleaning composition,preferably in the form of a glove and specifically for cleaning thehair, body, body parts of an infant or the elderly. Such a product needsto be soft, absorbent of the cleaning composition, inexpensive so thatit can be disposed of after a single use, instantly usable, i.e.,without the need for water activation, and the use should not requireauxiliary water for rinsing. Rather, simple air drying should result ina clean body part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cloth-like or otherwise absorbentwipe, preferably in the shape of a glove, useful for washing the hair,body part, face, etc. of an infant, the elderly and/or oneself, asneeded. The glove is cloth or otherwise woven of soft and absorbentmaterial. The glove is preferably infused with a shampoo or soapishcomposition which will, when rubbed over the hair, face or body part,will be smooth and not abrading and, yet, will wash the surface clean.Significantly, there should be no need for water to activate the shampooor soap composition and no need for water to rinse the now-cleaned bodypart. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the gloveis made in a left or right-handed independent form so that it can beeasily slid on and off either a right or left handed individual.Preferably this is accomplished by having the two outside fingers of theglove be oversized than would be presented if the glove were properlysized for a left or a right handed individual. Of course, it is withinthe scope of the present invention for the glove to be a mitten, withoutindividual fingers and, yet, clearly, for facilitating the cleaning ofhair, face, hands of an infant or the elderly, fingers would seeminglyprovide more control to the user. According to the present invention,the gloves are sold and contained within a carton like package, suitablefor carrying by the caregivers (or oneself) and disposable, one at atime. After use, the item can be disposed of It is a specific aspect ofthe present invention for the wipe or glove to be absorbent of both theoriginal shampoo and soap composition, to “pick up” and retain dirt fromthe surface over which the glove is wiped, to be soft to the touch,inside and out, to be inexpensive and simple to manufacture, in bulk, tobe packaged in multiples of units, and for the gloves to be inexpensiveto permit one time use and disposal. In an alternate embodiment, theglove may be lined with a layer of substantially water imperviousmaterial, like latex, for example, so that the glove can be worn andused and, yet, the cleaning composition is isolated from the wearer'shand during use. The outside of the glove will still, of course, absorband retain the soap/cleaning composition but the inside layer within theglove prevents the same from coming into contact with the user's glovedhand. In this manner, the cleaning composition is isolated from thewearer's hand. The glove is integrated—i.e., the outside cleaningcompound infused and absorbent layer is secured to the inside water orcleaning impervious layer. This could be by a simple seaming, a sonicwelding, adhesive, etc. whether at one or more points within the gloveor along all points of contact between the inner glove lining and theouter glove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred physical embodiment of thepresent invention and

FIG. 2 is a preferred embodiment of a package for a multiple of thepresent invention, as intended to be sold by a manufacturer to theconsumer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As best seen in FIG. 1, a soft, cloth or cloth-like, woven and absorbentglove 10 has a set of fingers 12, a palm area 14, an opening 16 and aback-hand section 18 (beneath the palm area). As can be seen, the glove10 is really a set of two layers, superimposed and then welded, sewn orotherwise connected along the outside perimeter 22. This forms anoutside edge 24 for one side; an opposed outside edge 26; and a set ofedges 28 for the individual fingers. No seaming will be provided to theends 30 and 32 and thus an opening 16 is defined there between. A glove10 is thus provided. Of course the opening 16 must be wide enough toallow the user's fingers and palm and back of hand to slide into and outof the envelop defined by the two surfaces 40 and 42 of the glove 10.The present invention shown in FIG. 1 has the thumb finger 50, shorter,wider and at a slight angle to the other fingers 52. This is preferablya glove 10 meant to be easily worn by a right handed person or, stateddifferently, by a person's right hand, independent of handedness.According to one aspect of the present invention, the thumb can be longenough that the same glove 10 can be easily donned and removed from aperson's left hand, too. According to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the fingers for the thumb 50 and the pinky 60 areboth sufficiently large so that the same glove 10 can easily be worn onthe left or right hand.

According to the present invention, the material for the glove 10 issoft, absorbent of a composition of shampoo, soap, or abacterial-cleaning material. The glove should easily and withoutunnecessary abrading or rubbing gently glide over the recipient's hair,face, hands, or other body parts. The glove should pick up andmaintain/retain the dirt which is loosened by the sliding action of theglove over the recipient's body.

According to the present invention, the glove can be made from the sameor a similar woven or cotton like (or paper-based) material as that nowused for baby wipes or toilet cleaning wipes. Other materials can beused, too, but it is contemplated by the inventor that the gloves orwipes be capable of absorbing the shampoo or soap-like composition,absorb and retain the dirt loosened thereby, that the glove be easy andinexpensive to manufacture and package into a container having several(see FIG. 2), be disposable, soft, and comfortable to user and therecipient. In addition, easy of donning and removing is important, easeof disposal, too.

According to the present invention, the preferred formulations for theshampoo or soap-like composition is an combination of one or more of thefollowing: deionized water, tirethanolamine lauryl sulate, propyleneglycol, cocamidopropyl betaine, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaaben,propylparben, a fragrance (to make the same and the rubbed over areasmell fresh and clean in addition to being fresh and clean), and citricacid. It is an aspect of the present invention that the compositionprovided for the purpose of converting an otherwise inert glove into ashampoo and soap-infused glove be capable of long term storage andmaintaining its presence within the glove, that the composition becapable of being easily absorbed by the glove material, that it bemaintained over a long time within the glove material, that the rubbingof the glove with composition over hair or a body part transfer some butnot immediately all of the shampoo and soap-like material composition tothe body part and that the shampoo/soap become inseparable with the goveso that after wiping over the hair or body part, the dirt of the samestays on the glove. Other components which can be used in formulatingthe shampoo and soap-like composition are believed to be a combinationof: water, ammonium chloride, ammonium lauryl sulfate, glycol, sodiumlaureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium lauroamphoacetate,polysorbate 20 and polysorbate 80, citric acid, Quaternium-15,polyquaternium-10 and methylisothiazolinone.

As shown in FIG. 2, a carton 100, with its top removed for ease ofillustration, can be provided to the consumer having a plurality ofgloves 10, stacked therein, one upon the other. A suitable mechanism inthe package or carton's top or inside the same, will be provided fordispensing, preferably, one glove 10 at a time. The user/consumer canpull one glove 10, place it over their hand (left or right) by slidingthe glove over the hand and correspondingly having the fingers of theuser slide through the opening 16 until the user's fingers are locatedwithin the finger area 12, preferably with the thumb of the user withineither outside thumb section 50 (if a glove 10 is provided wherein theoutside fingers are differently sized) or within either outside fingersection 50 or 60, if the glove 10 is provided with two large outsidefingers.

The glove is used by massaging the shampoo or soap-like composition intothe hair or over a body part, hands, arms, face, neck, etc. and thecomposition of the glove will clean the body part and remove the dirtform the body part and transfer the same to the glove. When the washingprocess is finished, the user can easily slide the glove 10 off of thehand and dispose of the same in a convenient trash container. Whenanother glove 10 is desired, the user simply pulls a new one from thepackage or carton 100.

In an alternate embodiment, the glove may be lined with an inside layer(or glove liner) of substantially water impervious material, like latex,for example, so that the composite glove i.e., an outer cleaningcomposition or soap-infused glove and the inner liner, can be easily puton one's hand, worn and used and, yet, the cleaning composition andwater is isolated from the wearer's hand during use—a consequence of thewater impervious inner glove liner. The outside of the glove will still,of course, absorb and retain the soap/cleaning composition but theinside glove-like layer within the outer glove shape prevents thecleaning solution and/or water and soil, etc. from coming into contactwith the user's actual hand. In this manner, the cleaning compositionand the soil removed from a person when used to clean a body part isisolated from the wearer's actual hand. The glove is integrated—i.e.,the outside cleaning, soap-compound infused and absorbent layer issecured, at least in part, to the inside water or cleaning imperviouslayer. Thus, the glove, comprised of outer layer with cleaning compoundand inner layer of water impervious material, is donned and removed as asingle glove article. The integration of the liner and the outer layercould be by a simple seaming, a sonic welding, adhesive, etc. whether atone or more points within the glove or along all points of contactbetween the inner glove lining and the outer glove.

I claim:
 1. A cleaning article for the hair or body parts of a humancomprising: a) a glove-like component; b) said glove-like component madeof an absorbent woven material which is capable of holding a shampoo orsoap-like composition and whose composition picks up and retainsloosened dirt when the same is rubbed over a body part; and c) saidglove-like component being infused with a shampoo or soap-likecomposition.
 2. A cleaning article for the hair or body parts of a humanas claimed in claim 1 wherein said glove-like component is formed from acotton material.
 3. A cleaning article for the hair or body parts of ahuman as claimed in claim 1 wherein said glove-like component is formedof a woven and soft material.
 4. A cleaning article for the hair or bodyparts of a human as claimed in claim 1 wherein said glove-like componentis formed with two outside fingers which both can accommodate thumbs ofthe left or right hand of the user.
 5. A cleaning article for the hairor body parts of a human as claimed in claim 1 wherein said glove-likecomponent is sewn, welded or otherwise formed from two overlaying sheetsof planar material with the outside edges forming the glove and anopening for a user's hand.
 6. A cleaning article for the hair or bodyparts of a human as claimed in claim 1 wherein a plurality of theglove-like components are provided in a package.
 7. A cleaning articlefor the hair or body parts of a human as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidwoven material is soft to the touch and, yet, is capable of absorbingand retaining said shampoo and soap-like composition for a long shelflife.
 8. A cleaning article for the hair or body parts of a human asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said woven material releases said shampoo andsaid soap-like composition without the addition of water.
 9. A cleaningarticle for the hair or body parts of a human as claimed in claim 1wherein said woven material releases said shampoo and said soap-likecomposition without the addition of water and said cleaned hair and bodypart is substantially clean and soap free without the necessity ofrinsing with water.
 10. A cleaning article for the hair or body parts ofa human as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a water-imperviousliner integrated to and within said woven material.
 11. A cleaningarticle for the hair or body parts of a human as claimed in claim 10wherein said liner is also in the shape of a glove.
 12. A cleaningarticle for the hair or body parts of a human as claimed in claim 10wherein said liner is integrated by either seaming, welding, sonicwelding, adhesive or otherwise to said woven material.